We all know that once some narratives get started in the mainstream, it's impossible for many to refute or disprove them as the masses turn off their brains and agree. Post some of the worst music narratives that got spun that you personally believe to be untrue.
Probably the most contentious one I'll post but TESTING is a great album and the A$AP Rocky hate train from those just waiting on more of the same / new music faster / another "Fuckin Problems" was completely unwarranted. Rocky did what I think every great artist should do, evolved his old sound with his new direction and dropped a project that feels like a logical progression of his sound and creating a project that stands alone in a discography instead of just being a better or worse version of a previous release. ALLA is the closest comparison to make but I believe the sonic risks on TESTING paid off more often than not and even though Praise Da Lord did well, most really used this album as the springboard to vent their frustration at Rocky for not giving them more music or more of the same. I think there a small amount of valid criticisms for the album but really think the hate was just mass blind agreeance of the narrative spun in the mainstream.
This is an old one but that narrative from the late 2000s that not only Lil Wayne was a bad rapper, but was ruining hip hop. This is so provably false because he has such a large back catalog of great music (even at the time the narrative was spun) but also because it came from a group of people who didnt even primarily like or play rap music. There were also old heads that jumped on this train as well but I think they focused their hate on Wayne specifically cause he was the poster boy for "substanceless vulgar rap" without actually checking out his more in depth and personal songs. Granted Wayne definitely had a fall off into the 2010s were he definitely wasnt as good as he was previously, I think that only fueled the narrative to live on and is forever immortalized in the Wayne x Eminem memes of the early facebook days.
The last one I'll throw out is that "Uzi has been trash since X date." This one is more twitter and KTT site specific but I really think people who dont actively try to listen to music outside the albums and big songs and just come to the conclusion that an artist is now trash because they dont have a new hit / well liked album publicly are helping to ruin the trajectory of some of these mainstream artists. If you paid attention to Pre-EA Uzi (2018 era), he was making some of the most unique sounding music (for his own sound at least) of his whole career. Granted while I think EA was provably rushed out (confirmed by his engineer K Lee) and that supposedly had many tracks leaked (according to Uzi in a recent interview) it isnt completely fair to judge him on that release alone when he has released some great loosies and some incredible snippets even into this year. I challenge anyone who jumped on the "Uzi is trash now" bandwagon to try out his newest stuff and his next work because I think you will miss out on some great music. Also, to those who just want him to go back to his old sound, I think you are only going to hold him back as he has clearly made attempts at that, each of which has diminishing returns compared to new unique music (I think of P2 and Over Your Head specifically).
@op people hated LIR2 though.
People saying Nas rapped on horrible beats (false) when they really were trying to say was that Nas had horrible hooks (true)
Rapping “off beat”
I’m not saying it’s impossible to be off beat but allot of my favorite newer rappers just hit different pockets or have more swing in a flow.
And even then, music doesn’t have to be on a beat. Music can be anything. Literally.
For f***s sake Hey Ya is a 11/4 time signature. Music doesn’t have to have rules
People saying Nas rapped on horrible beats (false) when they really were trying to say was that Nas had horrible hooks (true)
This is fair
The narrative that Rebirth was influential therefore good
It was neither
You can say that the “rock star” image in rap was influenced by Lil Wayne, but it wasn’t the actual music in Rebirth just his image
For f***s sake Hey Ya is a 11/4 time signature. Music doesn’t have to have rules
Sorry but no it’s not lol
It’s just grouped cool
It’s 3 measures of 4/4, a measure of 2/4, and then 2 measures of 4/4
Does that on a loop
That’s a lot more practical than reading 11/4 as a time signature
"Biggie never dissed Pac back. Biggie always took the high road".
Pleaasseeeeeeee.
The narrative that Rebirth was influential therefore good
It was neither
You can say that the “rock star” image in rap was influenced by Lil Wayne, but it wasn’t the actual music in Rebirth just his image
I'd argue Cudi was more influential in bridging the gap between rock and rap in the new generation.